The Walkmen: UFC 173 Walkout Songs

By: Tommy MessanoMay 26, 2014

Constant offensive pressure coupled with a mantra from California
rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers were two of the main
ingredients in T.J.
Dillashaw’s upset win on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas.

Walking into the UFC
173 main event, Dillashaw was a heavy underdog to defending
bantamweight champion Renan Barao.
At the end of the night, there was no question that Dillashaw was
the best 135-pound fighter in the world.

Coming into the UFC 173 headliner on the strength of five wins in
his previous six appearances, Dillashaw needed a game plan to crack
the code of Barao’s 22-fight winning streak. The Red Hot Chili
Peppers’ “Can’t Stop” is a song about harnessing a person’s inner
personal energy. Between rounds of his bantamweight title fight,
Dillashaw and coaches at
Team Alpha Male subconsciously knew the best path to victory
was an inability to stop.

Dillashaw would not be stopped, and deep into the championship
rounds of his first title fight, the 28-year-old bantamweight’s
game plan allowed him to silence every one of his critics.

Besides holding an
Ultimate Fighting Championship belt and a mind-boggling winning
streak, Barao was perhaps best known for his affection for obscure
Brazilian pop songs. With his walkout choice at UFC 173, Barao gave
a nod to local Natal artist Wesley Safadao and his song “Sou
Ciumento Mesmo.” Loosely translated, “Sou Ciumento Mesmo,” a bubble
gum dance song, means “Even I’m Jealous” in English.

MMA fighters care not for summer love flings, but any cage fighter
worth his salt had to be envious of Barao’s impressive nine-year
tear.

Like cracking open a good intro guitar riff, Dillashaw set the tone
for his title fight with Barao in the opening round. A wrestler by
trade, Dillashaw nailed Barao with an uppercut before a red-hot
right hand to the chin sent the Brazilian champion firmly to his
back. The final two rounds saw Dillashaw continue his striking
onslaught on Barao, as head kicks hit their mark and a left hand
dropped the Nova Unaio product back to the canvas. The fight came
to a close in the fifth round after Dillashaw beat on a grounded
Barao until referee Herb Dean waved
off the fight in favor of the new UFC bantamweight champion.

The co-main event of UFC 173 was not a changing of the guard; it
was a highlight reel scoop slam of the guard in the UFC’s light
heavyweight division. In his second fight at 205 pounds, Daniel
Cormier looked quicker and more powerful than ever. For future
hall of famer Dan
Henderson, the fight with Cormier quickly turned into a game of
survival.

Louisiana rapper Lil Wayne’s 2010 track “Right Above It” has become
the unofficial anthem for Cormier throughout his UFC run. “Right
Above It” is off the album “I Am Not a Human Being,” and inside the
cage, Cormier’s body appears to have been programmed to do
unhuman-like things. Rebooted and updated in a sleek 205-pound
model, Cormier has retained all of his heavyweight power while
improving on his high-level, fast-twitch grappling skills.

There was no need for a Las Vegas crowd-led “USA, USA, USA” chant,
but Henderson’s walkout choice still reflected his love for the
red, white and blue. Off his 2011 album “Clancy’s Tavern,” country
singer Toby Keith’s “Made in America” is another patriotic song
from the Oklahoma-born lyricist. Both “Hendo” and Cormier were made
in America, so Henderson’s walkout song had little psychological
effect on the outcome of their bout.

For the first 10 minutes of their fight, Cormier dragged Henderson
through a clinic of MMA offense. Up two rounds to none, Cormier put
Henderson to sleep with a rear-naked choke submission midway
through the final frame. No matter what weight class Cormier
competes in, the 35-year-old two-time Olympian has proven to be
“right above” his competition and remains perfect at 15-0.

Born in 1984, Ferguson’s love for hip hop and break beats may have
begun in the womb. Ferguson stepped out to the classic jam “The
Party Has Begun” by Freestyle, while Kikuno countered with a
passion of his own: group sing-a-longs and charitable causes.
However, the 1980s all-star team of singing talent collectively
known as USA for Africa’s “We Are The World” was not enough to
carry Kikuno to an upset win over Ferguson. The California
lightweight’s party began early and often, until Ferguson put away
Kikuno with a brutal punch at the 4:06 mark of round one.